Attention Parents of Toddlers..........

on Tuesday, Dec. 12th there will be an outing just for toddlers. Please meet at church at 5:30pm so you will be able to leave with the rest of the group at 6pm. If anyone would like to meet the group there, they will be arriving at Riverbanks Zoo at 6:40pm. I'm sure you will be in for a treat! You will be going to see the "Lights Before Christmas". For more information, or if you need the name of the person to contact, please email me at nricha4903@hotmail.com.

Take care and have a blessed week!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Busy Time of Year

Well, here we are in the midst of the busiest time of year. Things seem to pick up rapidly during the month of December. Today was a busy day in and of itself. We had a wonderful time of worship this morning. The title of this morning's message was "Sharing the Christmas Story. Understanding Advent". Advent is the time leading up to Christ's coming. In this day and age, we are awaiting His second coming. The return of Christ to come and take His people home! Praise the Lord!

Today was the deadline for 2 very important events in our church. The West Virginia Christmas program and the ordering of the poinsettias. I hope everyone was able to participate as he or she felt led. We all have been blessed beyond measure and participating in things like the West Virginia program is one way we can give back.

Our annual North Christmas parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony was this afternoon as well. We had a terrific turnout for the festivities. The fireworks following the tree lighting ceremony were spectacular. The guest speaker encourage each of us to remember to give to those who are less fortunate than we are. There are many across the world who are in need, but the giving needs to start at home. We can improve our little part of the world by being the people God would have us to be. Putting ourselves in another person's shoes and acting as Jesus would act in a situation, rather than being so self-centered. We never know what another is going through and should really think before we speak. Extending a Christian hand of love by welcoming that new person who has come to our church, or by smiling and treating others the way we would want to be treated is a good way to display our Christian actions.

The youth Christmas card delivery started today. The cost of delivery for each card is $0.25 each. This ministry by the youth will end on Dec. 17th.

XYZ: don't forget to sign up in the vestibule for your Christmas gathering on Dec. 8th. You will meet at the church at 6pm on Dec. 8th and will go to Chestnut Grill in Orangeburg. After the meal, you will head for New Hope Baptist Church to view the Life of Christ performance. I have been fortunate enough to go to both Chestnut Grill and New Hope Baptist Church for the performance. You will receive a blessing indeed!

The children are working on their Christmas program. It will be held on Sunday, Dec. 10th at 6pm. They always do a fantastic job. Come on out and bring a friend or two. We always have a great turnout for this event. Let's make this year even better!

Speaking of Christmas programs, the adult choir is also working on their cantata. It will be held on Sunday, Dec. 17th at 6pm. The music is absolutely beautiful. Remember to mark the date on your calendar and invite all your family, friends and neighbors!

Nothing else comes to mind at the present time. If I have neglected to mention something, please email me at nricha4903@hotmail.com. I am always glad to post upcoming events or church news.

Until next time, take care and God bless!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Much to be Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving! The day is almost over, but the thanks should never end. We should always take time to be thankful for that which God has so richly blessed us with. I hope everyone had a wonderful day filled with family, friends and don't forget the turkey!

Last night's Community Service was a blessing. The refreshments that followed were delicious! Many thanks to those that helped prepare the spread that was available. It was a time of coming together in God's house to let Him know with our fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ how truly thankful we are. I am thankful for a family that loves me (both at home and at church). I am thankful for a job to go to everyday and the abilities that God has blessed me with. I am thankful for the house I live in and the car I drive. I am thankful for the friends I have. I am thankful for the pets I have that love me unconditionally (they melt my heart). Most of all, I am thankful for a God who loves me beyond all measure!

I want to remind each of you of the upcoming Christmas parade and Tree Lighting ceremony this Sunday (Nov. 26th). The parade begins at 4pm. If you wish to ride on the church float, please meet at the church at 3:30pm. Everyone is invited to attend the tree lighting at 5pm. Our music minister has invited everyone to participate in the community choir for the tree lighting service. He is also leading the music for the tree lighting ceremony. There will be a fireworks display immediately following the tree lighting ceremony. In light of the upcoming events on Sunday, Discipleship training has been cancelled for the evening. We will have our evening worship service immediately following the festivities Sunday. Hope to see you there!

Don't forget to have your boxes ready for the West Virginia Christmas Program. The deadline is Sunday, Nov. 26th. Please bring the boxes or items to fill boxes to the fellowship hall. Remember, no money in boxes, please; and make sure you label each shoe box with age and gender. If you are putting together a cold kit, please make sure to place those items in a large freezer bag.

Youth Christmas card delivery will begin this Sunday, Nov. 26th as well. It will continue through Dec. 17th. The cost of each card is $0.25. The youth always do a terrific job with this. Keep up the good work! :-)

Also, if you would like to place an order for a poinsettia(s), the deadline for this is this Sunday, Nov. 26th. The cost of each flower is $12.00. Please make sure you indicate who the flower is placed by and who it is in memory or honor of. The poinsettias will be placed in the church Sat., Dec. 16th. Please give money and order forms (which are in your bulletin) to someone on the flower committee.

The children are preparing for their Christmas program. It will be held on Sunday, Dec. 10th during the evening worship hour. Everyone is invited to attend. They always do a wonderful job. Many thanks to their faithful director and all the hard work she puts into the Children's Choir! :-)

The adult choir is also preparing for our cantata. It will be held Sunday, Dec. 17th during the evening worship hour. Everyone is invited to attend this event as well!

As you can see, this Sunday will be a busy day. In the end, the display of Christian kindness (W. Va. Christmas program), the community coming together to worship and ring in the Christmas season, as well as our normal Sunday activities of Sunday School, worship and choir practice, are all something to be thankful for!

For anyone traveling this Thanksgiving weekend, I pray for traveling mercies for you and yours. Until next time, take care and God bless!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Hello and good Monday evening to you! I hope you had a productive day and didn't allow too many things to stress or worry you too much. Our pastor has been bringing some wonderful messages on stress, anxiety, depression and worry. There aren't many people who don't do those things. We can all certainly stand to learn how to not allow those things to control us and interfere with the blessings God has in store for us. I know I worry over things that I have no control over. There is no need to complain or worry. What good will it do? Our Lord and Savior asks that we lay our burdens at the cross. We need to allow Him to work through us and in us. Those things don't allow that blessing to happen. Satan will surely tempt us at every corner, but he can only do what he is allowed to do. We have to remember to put on our armor on every day and ward off those fiery darts he throws our way. We also need to remember that others see our actions in the workplace, in a grocery store, driving down the road.......we never know who is watching and being discouraged from our actions. It is hard not to allow certain things to bother us, but we have to keep in mind that things can only go as far as we allow them. Satan only has as much power as we allow him to have. No other is as strong as the Lord Himself!

We have many things taking place this week and in the weeks to come. The community Thanksgiving Service is Wed., Nov. 22nd. The service begins at 7am and is being held at North FBC this year. Refreshments will be served in the fellowship hall immediately following the service. Choir members have been asked to meet at 6:30 to practice the song for the special that evening. Several folks on the fellowship committee are meeting at the fellowship hall that afternoon to prepare the refreshments. Everyone is invited to attend. The pastor from North United Methodist Church as well as the pastor from North Pentecostal Holiness are scheduled to speak. Come and share in this time of praise and thanksgiving!

Toddler Time was held tonight in the gym from 6:30-8pm. I am not sure if this will be a weekly event. I will post more details on this as I receive them.

The annual North Christmas parade and tree lighting ceremony is being held this Sunday. If you wish to ride on the float and represent North FBC, please meet at the church Sunday afternoon (Nov. 26th) at 3:30pm. The lighting ceremony will be at 5pm. Our Minister of Music will be leading the songs for the evening. There will be no discipeship training due to the tree lighting ceremony. Our evening service will begin immediately following the ceremony and fireworks. We encourage everyone to come out and participate.

The youth will begin delivering Christmas cards. The cost of delivery per card is $0.25. The time frame for this is from Sunday, Nov. 26th until Sunday, Dec. 17th. They always do such a terrific job in delivering the cards. Remember to have your cards ready between the dates mentioned above.

The deadline for the West Virginia Christmas Program is next Sunday (Nov. 26th). There are four different options available. Food box, shoe box list, adult cold kits and bed clothes. Please bring the boxes or items to fill boxes to the fellowship hall. Remember: no clothes this time, at the request of the churches, we will NOT be including the $5.00 love gift. If you are helping with the cold kits, please remember to place items in a large freezer bag. No money in boxes and remember to label each box with age and gender for the shoe boxes. This is always a wonderful form of giving for our church. We have been greatly blessed and that blessing needs to be shared with others!

Also, the deadline for accepting orders for Poinsettias to be placed in honor or memory of is next Sunday (Nov. 26th). The cost is $12.00 per flower. Remember to write down who is placing the flower and the name(s) of the person(s) the flower is being placed in memory or in honor of.

XYZ will be having a get-together Dec. 12th. There is a sign up sheet in the vestibule of the church. Remember to sign up soon so reversations can be made accordingly!

The Children's Choir will be performing their annual Christmas program. It will be held on Sunday evening, Dec. 10th. We always have a tremendous response to the program and invite everyone to attend. The service begins at 6pm.

The Adult Choir will be performing our Christmas cantata Sunday, Dec. 17th during the evening worship hour. Everyone is encourage to attend this event as well.

I think that covers about all I have for now. Many thanks to our former Youth and Children's leader as well. She has done a terrific job with the youth and children. It's not an easy task, I am sure! With her busy schedule with being a full-time Kindergarten teacher as well as studying for her Master's Degree, she has had to relinquish the position of Youth and Children's leader. We appreciate and applaud her for a job well done! May God continue to bless her exceedinly and abundantly!

I hope to see you at the Community Service on Wed. evening. Until next time, take care and God bless!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

It's hard to believe that November will soon be over. Thanksgiving is next week and then preparations for Christmas will begin. I have noticed on my way to and from work, some folks have already started putting up Christmas decorations. I am beginning to feel the itch myself. I love the decorations and how warm and inviting they make everything. As we all know, it is very important to remember the reason for the season and not let it get lost in the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

I wanted to remind you of some things that will be taking place in the next few days. Men's breakfast will be tomorrow morning at 8am in the fellowship hall. If you haven't already made plans to attend, you are encouraged to join in a great time of food, fellowship and rejoicing with fellow brothers-in-Christ.

Community Thanksgiving dinner and service will be next Wednesday, Nov. 22nd. Come out and bring a friend!

Don't forget about choir practice Sunday evenings at 7pm. We would love to have anyone who has thought about joining the choir to come and join us. We have started working on the Christmas cantata. Hope to see you there!

That's about all I have for now. I wish each of you a safe and blessed Thanksgiving. We do have so much to be thankful for! Take care and God bless!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Homecoming Pictures

Hello! I hope your week went well. I have a couple of pictures from Homecoming that I thought you would like to see. The gentlemen in the picture have been kind enough to grant permission to have their picture posted on our website. Thanks to both of you! I hope you enjoy them!



Rev. Larry Shull (left) and Rev. Brett Mask (right).

Exercise Your Right

Tomorrow is election day. If you are a registered voter, please make sure you take the time to vote. We have some pretty big items on the docket this year and we need to vote wisely. One thing I do wish when it comes to politics, is that the candidates would spend less time bashing each other and more time talking about what they intend to do when they are elected to serve. I have grown very tired of listening to each of them speak lowly of the other, and it is not appealing. In my opinion, when they make a promise of accomplishing something while in office, please follow through with that promise. I am fully aware that in politics there will always be a certain amount of "mudslinging", but enough is enough.

To be perfectly honest, and I am sure that most would agree, until God is put back in His rightful place in this country, we can continue to expect these types of behaviors. In short, voting is one way we can make our voices be heard. I encourage everyone is a registered voter to vote. If we don't vote, then we have no right to complain about what a poor job so and so did, etc.

Anyway, that's enough of that. Remember to vote tomorrow, Nov. 6th! Remember to take your voter's registration card with you. If aren't registered to vote yet, please take the time to become a registered voter.

Until next time, take care and God bless!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Nothing Like Home!

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." A famous quote from a very famous movie. Loved by big kids and small. And a statement that rang very true today for many. We had an incredible turn-out today for homecoming. It was a delight to see those familiar faces. It was also wonderful to see our former pastor and his family as well. Homecoming has always been one of my favorite events at church. And before I forget, hats off to those that helped decorate the fellowship in preparation for today. It was absolutely beautiful! Many thanks to those that lended a hand, from those that serve on the fellowship committee, to those that helped out just to be helping (especially those young men who helped so willingly). It is very appreciated!! Did I mention how wonderful the food was??!! Scrumptous. The desserts were delightful!!

The XYZ will have their Thanksgiving banquet this Friday night, Nov. 10th at 6:30pm in the fellowship hall. A meal will be provided. The Dixie Dewdrops will be performing as well. Come join in a wonderful time of food and fellowship.

Don't forget to bring your donations for the West Virginia Christmas Program along with your donations for school supplies (to help local schools) and canned goods (to assist those in need in our community).

If you are part of the Instrumental Group, please remember to meet in the sanctuary next Sunday morning (Nov. 12th) at 9am. We look forward to hearing the beautiful music you play!

Now is the time for you to join the Adult Choir. We have started rehearsing the Christmas cantata. Even if you only participate for the Christmas season, it will give you the opportunity to see if this is something you wish to continue. Join us. We'd love to see you there!

I think that covers all I have for now. Until next time, take care and God bless!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)